"baby, please don't cry"
Candice "Candy Cane" Marshall hasn't seen or talked to any of her friends in a long time. Dallas and Johnny are gone and she's terrified to face the fact that Steve and Sodapop may have met their fates in Vietnam. But when t...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
ONE MONTH LATER
Airports always gave me anxiety for some reason. Maybe it was all the people and the hustle and bustle. Or maybe it was because I've always been terrified of airplanes. Either way, I was ready to be out of there the minute Sodapop and I walked in.
"What time does their plane land?" Soda asked as we sat down in the terminal.
"Seven, so any minute now."
It was another fifteen minutes or so before I heard someone cry, "Candice?" I turned in my seat and saw the twins walking through the gate, lugging their suitcases along with them. I jumped to my feet and ran to greet my brother and sister.
"Hey, guys!" I cried, pulling them into a tight embrace.
"Hey, Candy," Greg said.
"It's so good to see you, Can," Claire added.
"How was your flight?" I asked them as Sodapop walked over to join us.
"It was good! I slept most of the time," Greg informed.
"I finished a book."
"In a couple of hours? Damn."
"Well, I had already read about half of it," Claire said dismissively. "It's a good thing I packed more to read while we're here."
"Hey, Sodapop!" the twins greeted in unison.
"Hey!" he replied, giving them each a hug. "Long time, no see."
"No kidding," said Greg. "You got buff since the last time I seen you."
"'Saw', Greg," Claire said, rolling her eyes at him.
"Whatever."
"Hey, let's go. We can catch up on the way to my apartment. I don't wanna run up a bill on the parking meter," I said, leading my family toward the airport exit.
Sodapop drove my car so that I could spend the whole car ride talking without having to worry about not paying attention to the road.
"How's school?"
"Good. We both got straight A's."
"Wow, really?" I asked.
"Well, I got a C in English," said Greg. "But everything else, I got all A's."
"How are the grandparents?" I asked timidly. I didn't quite have the greatest relationship with them, considering the fact they didn't even want to let me see Greg and Claire after my mother passed away. They changed their minds once I turned eighteen, but before then, I could barely even have a phone call with the twins.
"They're fine. Grandma's weird, though. She forgets a lot anymore. She drove to the grocery store the other night and totally forgot what she went there for."
